The New Imperialism 1800 1914 What is Imperialism

The New Imperialism 1800 -1914

What is Imperialism? The domination by one country of the political, economic or cultural life of another

Economic Motives of Imperialism? Due to the Industrial Revolution: Need for natural resources/raw materials Need for markets for products Opportunities for capital investment

Political-Military Motives Economic interests eventually precipitated political-military action to protect them. For example, Britain establishes protectorate in Egypt to protect trade route to India. Dutch-Capetown

Nationalism sparks interest in establishing an empire for prestige & influence. Imperialism fostered competition and rivalries. Appease domestic desire for expansion

Humanitarian-religious goals “White Man’s Burden” syndrome. Idea that Europeans had a duty to spread Western culture. Missionaries were zealous although often prejudice about those they sought to convert

Poetry & Literature Aroused National Pride & Sense of Adventure “Take up the White Man’s Burden--Send forth the best ye breed--Go bind your sons to exile To serve your captives’ need; To wait in heavy harness On fluttered fold and wild--Your new-caught sullen peoples Half-devil and half-child Rudyard Kipling

The White Man’s Burden

Social Darwinism Many justified imperialism by applying Darwin’s ideas about natural selection & survival of the fittest to human societies Idea that Europeans were superior race and imperial conquest & even destruction of weaker races was nature’s way of improving the human species

Widespread Support? Imperialism found support among all classes of people from bankers to workers WHY? Because all of them benefitted from imp Soldiers, settlers, merchants, missionaries and explorers were all involved.

Critics Argued imperialism was tool of the rich It was exploitive & immoral Hypocritical for Western democratic nations.

Belgium Leads the Way Began when King Leopold II of Belgium hired Stanley to explore Congo Basin and arrange trade treaties. Publicly Leopold justified the mission claiming that Stanley would be “carry the light” to those “plunged in barbarism” This set off a scramble by other nations

Leopold’s Brutality in the Congo

Berlin Conference 1884 International Conference to establish rules for colonizing Africa & avoid bloodshed among Europeans. Agreed that no country could claim any part of Africa unless it had set up a gov office there. This alone, prompted govs to send officials to exert power over local rulers No Africans were invited

The rush to colonize was on…. Europeans drew arbitrary borders with little to no understanding of the peoples they were subjugating or dividing. After 20 years of carving up Europe only Ethiopia and Liberia remained independent.

Partition of Africa was known as “dark continent” because so little was known about it Difficult to penetrate due to malaria and sleeping sickness from the tsetsi fly Medical breakthroughs & steamships, however, allowed Europeans to explore Europeans were able to exploit rivalries among different African tribes

How did West succeed? Strong economies, stable governments and powerful armies & navies, public opinion approval Medical breakthroughs quinine Superior technology Maxim machine gun, repeating rifles, steam driven warships were very convincing.

4 Types of Imperial Control Colony – outright complete control - France Protectorate – Territory has its own government but it’s under the control of an outside power Britain Sphere of Influence – outside power claims exclusive trading & investment privileges Economic Imperialism – when private business interests control a less developed country.

Protectorates left local rulers in place even though they were expected to follow the advice of the European power. Advantage of this type of control was that it cost less and did not require huge military or naval commitment. Future leaders sent to mother country for education. Came back & became nationalists

Spheres of Influence Area which one power claimed exclusive investment or trading privileges This happened particularly in China among European powers. Which area has the US claimed as its exclusive sphere of influence? Latin America

Liberia and Sierra Leone From the early 1800 s US and Europe outlawed the slave trade Britain & US promoted idea of returning freed slaves to Africa Britain set up Sierra Leone 1787 US set up Liberia 1847 Arabs and Africans continued to sell slaves to Asia & the Middle East

Missionaries Missionaries followed explorers Were paternalistic Urged Africans to reject their own traditions in favor of Western ideas Dr. Livingstone – explorer/missionary who had more sympathy & less bias Missionaries wanted Africans to end slave trade

The Boer War Britain took over the Cape Colony (South Africa) from the Dutch in 1815 The Boers (Dutch farmers) resented British rule and moved North and founded new republics In the late 1800 s the discovery of gold and diamonds in the Boer republics led to war from 1899 -1902. The British won.

South Africa In 1910 Britain united the Cape Colony and the Boer republics into the Union of South Africa. The constitution set up a gov run by whites and created a system of complete segregation (apartheid) that would remain in force until 1993.

Africans Fight Back Ethiopia was only country to successfully resist colonization Menelik II had modernized his country with European assistance. When Italy attacked he was ready. Ethiopia and Liberia were only two countries to preserve their independence

Nationalism By 1900 s however, African leaders became nationalist movements to pursue their selfdetermination and independence

The End